#thoughtsTM

[malewife-overlord]

My toxic trait is I love Primus actually and I love the idea that he Is The Planet and is very much still alive and awake but Will Not Turn Back because he loves his kids so much and doing so could possibly hurt them so he stays as he is, eternally locked in alt mode, watching his kids fight and kill and hurt one another and eternally aching in his spark with his inability to act. I want regretful parent Primus who just wants to speak to his kids and tell them how much he loves them so bad. I want them to burrow into Cybertron and ask why it bleeds. I want them to head so deep they hear the echoes of an enormous sparkbeat and pretend it must be their imaginations because no way could the very planet itself be alive. I want Primus to see unicron coming to kill him and feast on his flesh and still refuse to uncurl because his children have a plan and they’ll fight for him and unless he can guarantee not one will be lost to his movements he will see through this existence as a planet to its very end, and put full faith in his children’s ability to save him. PLEASE

[ghost-bxrd]

ok ok Ghost I had an idea for a Jason au and I had to run it by you. ok so you know the idea of reincarnation, going from one life to another? imagine if Jason reincarnates, but due to a curse or something he always dies at fifteen. every single time no matter what life he always dies at fifteen, never any older or younger. and he has blurry memories of his past lives but not enough to know what's coming for him. and then time travel shenanigans happen or something and Bruce finds about about all this, and when he's transported back to before the joker and everything when he and Jason haven't fallen out yet, he starts scrambling to break the curse somehow

Y E S

Poor Jason, doomed by the narrative. We could even have an older Bruce finding Jason’s reincarnated self and taking him in, hoping to do right by this kid that reminds him so much of his dead son, only to lose him all over again when he turns fifteen and REALIZING ALL THOSE VAGUELY CONCERNING NIGHTMARES AND SLEEPY MUMBLINGS ABOUT DYING AND WEREN’T JUST A TEENAGER’S OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION

The time travel happens, maybe Bruce wakes up inside the body of his younger self, and Jason is just laughing at him because Bruce looks like he’s seen a ghost when he sits down for breakfast (LIKE BRUCE DIDNT CARRY HIM BACK TO THE CAVE BLOODY AND BROKEN YEARS AGO—).

And Bruce knows he should try to get back to his own time, he knows- but instead he calls an emergency meeting with every single Magic user and has every Bat rally around Jason with one firm command of keeping him safe.

The Bats are confused. Jason is annoyed. Bruce is panicking.

[matchbet-allofthetime]

Pushing my agenda here based on your points (beautifully said, btw! ❤️)

I think Knockout and Starscream are using Earth and its vehicles as a way to split themselves apart from Cybertron and their own experiences with a world that was broken and crumbling *before the war even started officially.*

They want to separate themselves from a home planet that both expected so much from them (as prettier/higher-society bots, which comes in any society with high expectations) and really, despite it all, they both wanted freedom

Knockout found his freedoms on earth with cars that are still extremely classy and pretty (he's one of the rarest Aston Martin's in the world, which started with only 77 and has 76 left because one crashed and couldn't be repaired.) I think he went out of his way to research rarer cars and found one that spoke to him and couple that with Knockout's natural love for joyriding and speed? It was perfect for him. He found his freedoms in abandoning as much of the war as he could (even so far as going behind Megatron's back so he could just enjoy a day off) and even took Breakdown with him numerous times

As for Starscream, he was a prince of Vos, likely alongside his trine, for his entire life. Then the war broke out and he became a genius commander, who was incredible at structuring attacks, public outcries in favour of the deceptions, and was also an incredibly skilled fighter. That, plus his natural cunning and ability for strategy AND tactics? He was the perfect systemic weapon. But based on TFP, he obviously didn't WANT to be ANY of these things. I really think Starscream chose, similarly to KO, a human vehicle that was still up to his standards- fast, sleek, pretty, powerful- so he could distance himself from who Cybertron wanted him to be. I also think that, in-universe (and ignoring design whatever-the-hell) he has such a different frame from what we're used to seeing him with BECAUSE he wanted to be different. He didn't want to feel like he used to. He went entirely sleek, instead of being a more curvy, thick frame like he is in other continuities alongside his trine or like KO is. I think he purposefully made himself more of what he wanted to be over a really long period of time because he was so sick of being someone he wasn't. And he feels like the human world has given him more realms and opportunities to do so. Sure, the backwater planet isn't flashy or anything, but he feels better about himself here than anywhere else he'd ever known. At least he can fly free in the skies, rather than be chained down by a society that still finds reasons to hate him, no matter what he does "right"

I've said for ages I think he played stupider than he was- and KO probably did too- simply so less was expected of them. I think they chose flashiness out of habit and a way to continue trying to love themselves in the midst of a war that only bred more war. But they TRIED to at least enjoy the planet they found themselves on, even adopting their phrases, habits from their cultures (such as going to drive-ins), their mannerisms to a degree, and their vehicles. Hell, even the vehicons raced humans sometimes just because they could.

These two are so alike yet so different. They find the other silly and foolish for their chosen mode of transportation- racer vs seeker, ground vs flight. But even still, they bond over shared experiences and situations and shit shows they get themselves into- often together, at that- and even if in an unorthodox way, the other is there when they feel down or someone they care for dies.

They love earthen culture because even if it does it in a really terrible way (and often doesn't work) it still outwardly says to be yourself, even if it takes a while to find whoever that is, and cybertronians, despite their sarcasm, take outward phrases very literally. So these two do exactly that. They decided to stop caring and instead explore this odd new world they've found themselves on and they become entranced. Perhaps they do think humans are foolish or disgusting, but they also seek out more of their world so they can learn. So they can blend in, in a way. They change themselves fundamentally to make room for more of humanity because they're desperate to experience something that isn't the torment, war, or bloodshed they've known for thousands and thousands of years.

Anyways, you brought up some lovely points and I had to get out my ThoughtsTM because I've had them since I first watched TFP

Even if he tries to act like he's not into human culture, tfp starscream is , in a sense? he picks up human phrases (the whole 'one has to make a case to said eyes and ears' or something like that), he is the only seeker and one of the few decepticons who has willingly picked up a human alt mode. he is a military jet, the other seekers are cybertronian jets. i think that despite him acting like he dislikes human culture he actually really likes it.

[noodlesoup1819]

'you noble glistening beast'

(pls click for better quality tumblr has decided it wants all of my art to be fuzzy out of nowhere)

[somuchbetterthanthat]

I think I appreciate Jon never fully giving in to the Corruption Arc that was laid on a red carpet at his feet in canon because, in part, I don't believe this was supposed to be the case.

If I'm considering the way characters react to Jon in latest seasons VS how Jon is actually acting, I'm seeing a world where characters are reacting to something that was supposed to happen, and didn't, because Jon the character fought the writer every step of the way.

What I personnally find it sad is that this wasn't acknowledged enough: Jon fought it. He loved it, he loved the horror and the fear and the ruined world at the end, everything about it was giving him extra dopamine/serotonine/whatever hormone is "happy hormone"; but he knew it was wrong to do so, and he CLUNG to that, the best he could, in a world that was literally shaped for him. In a world where there was the constant siren song of Jonah calling him back to him, calling him to his proper place as Pupil of the Eye.

What I would have liked to see is other people, people who haven't actually managed to resist it (Martin, with the Lonely, HELL, Basira with the Eye/hunt, Daisy a clear parallel to Jon, having tried to fought it and fell inevitably back to her more monstrous self in the end) genuinely fearing too much/not believing that this was an eternal thing Jon could do (if you could, of course, CONTRAST IT, with some more Jonah, from Jonah's perspective, of how /he/ fell into this, and how /similar/ he was to Jon in his younger years, all the more points for me) leading to them trying, and failing, and fearing, Jon's words and position at the end of the podcast, so much so that they tragically try to rob him of his agency again, just like Jonah and Annabelle did before.

On the other side of it, what would have been VERY interesting is Melanie and Georgie leaning more into Jon's side by the end. They wouldn't have had more Jonah InsightsTM that made Martin's fear so strong, nor Basira's defeat and dark pragmatism because of Daisy (and possibly some Jonah too). Melanie escaped the eye. She was given a chance to also fight against the Slaughter (against her will, yes, but she DID take the chance) and she succeeded. Georgie was touched by the end and managed, mostly, one might argue, to rise through it. So those two, especially in this horrible new context, might be more willing to listen to Jon. Melanie I'd say more so even than Georgie, if you think Georgie's history with Jon still blinds her too much.

At the very least I would have liked Melanie and Jon to argue about whether they can cut the tether by, like, removing Elias, then removing Jon in a way that might have of course horrified Martin (and possibly Georgie) but might have swayed Basira if Jon dying COULD choke to death the rest of the fears. If that makes sense. I dunno. I'm spitballing here. Like. Imagine a world where they create a new ritual, STILL with Jon as the core of it, but this time with it being Jon's choice, where they manage to pour so much fear into /Him/ that he becomes a Pandora box and the only way to end it is to burn it or seal it away or something else etc. etc.

Anyway. I just. I don't think Jon resisting the pull no matter how much he could have drink it all in is a bad thing. In fact, by god I love and adore Jon for it because it would have been SO easy for him to give in and he DIDN'T. My problem is more how i personally think the narrative failed him on that at the end.

[chrystallink]

Skate thought for the day:

I'm sure everyone's heard of the phrase 'death to the author' in fandom/media, right? How ironic it is that the Bible has the most intense 'death to the author' retoric thrown at it--both figuratively and literally.

And yet it is still bringing hearts to truth and salvation to this very day.

I think as Christian creatives, that is super encouraging. Our own works will never have the same level of importance as the Bible, but at the same time, as long as our creative works are still rooted in the truth of our faith, then no matter how many people jeer or throw rocks at us, there will still be some people who will read it, and seeds will be planted that point to the greater truth.

And that's what matters most.

[littlepuffy4ever]

Forgot to but update

I end up watching Shin Gojira and I liked it a lot c:

hmm lowkey wanna sit and watch some of the godzilla movies... i used to be big into it and i kinda got hit with nostalgia these past few days

[birdcatt]

[themalhambird]

@malkaleh : Mairon in Eregion for the crafting of the elven rings. I've fudged the time line a little so that Galadriel doesnt discover the truth about Halbrand till after the rings are made. Warning for Mairon being the usual levels of possessive , though at the moment it stays mostly in the privacy of his own mind. Also brief misinterpretation of Celebrimbor and Mirdania's relationship

The elven rings are finished, and Mairon is a little....something, about how little he was needed. He had planned a whole series of hints and nudges, instructions couched in suggestions that it would not be unreasonable for "Halbrand" to think of. But beyond the first push- the suggestion of alloys- Mairon was not needed. Fëonor's grandson had moved, as quick and confident as a river travelling from source to sea. And Mairon ought to be angry. He had intended, by Halbrand's helpful intersections, to worm a thread of himself into the jewellry- to ensnare the elves in a net they would not see drawing about them until it was far, far too late. But Fëonor's grandson- though he had talked Mairon (well, Halbrand, and the elven apprentices that clung about the Lord of Eregion as wasps to a pot of jam) through the lightning strokes of his process, asked for their thoughts and their conclusions, praised their insights, corrected their misteps with a gentle ferreting out of where their thought process had led them astray and helping them to learn, to improve,  to flourish in their understanding-

He teaches like Aulë. He shines with the same joy of it. The realisation steals upon him, quite incongruously, in a blink of Mairon's eye. In the same moment, the Lord of Eregion ceases to be Fëonor's grandson, a means to Mairon's own ends, but Celebrimbor- a jewel as brilliant as the Simirils themselves in his own right.

And so the...something that he feels, when the rings are finished, with Celebrimbor allowing no hand but his own to do the actual crafting and therefore ruining Mairon's back up plan of simply dashing a little of his blood into the workings of Celebrimbor's own magics- the something is....joy. Against all expectation, he has found, here, someone else who understands the beauty, the majesty, the order of creation exactly as Mairon does.

There is a feast to celebrate, in the aftermath, and Mairon indulges in the opportunity to speak with Melian's decedant- as fair as she was, though more shy- he demures at Halbrand's good natured questions and is drawn away, by a group of chittering, elfling brats who will not allow him peace, to speak nonsense of trolls and dwarf princes-

But there is Galadriel, his shining lady of light- she who would make a king of him. He will make a queen of her, in time, he thinks- asking her for a dance, and she takes his hand, but there is- something. She is reserved- distanced- troubled by something...her perceived duty, Mairon supposes, and Halbrand says -"I wager you think this a waste of time. You would be off as soon as possible, to carry the rings to your people?" He twirls her beneath his arm, and her face , as she turns back towards him, is a careful frown.

"Not quite," she says. "There is something yet I must attend to."

She excuses herself soon after. Mairon will have her high King's precious head, he who threw her away and now works her so that she cannot indulge even in a moment's triumph.

He looks around for Celebrimbor and-

Cannot see him.

When it becomes clear that the smith is not at his own feast, Halbrand makes for the forge. He wonders if, perhaps, Celebrimbor is more like Fëonor than Mairon has yet perceived- alike him in temperament as well as in skill. If he is sitting with his treasures, staring at the three, growing ever more reluctant to part with them- then maybe, Mairon's hopes of divisions amongst the elves may yet bear fruit- another civil war, another kinslaying-

Celebrimbor is in the forge. He is not hoarding his rings. He is stretched out on the plush sofa that stands there, his head in the lap of one of his apprentices- Mirdania, is her name. There is a plate of food, half picked at, left to one side on the floor; she has a book balanced open on the sofa's arm. She reads. Celebrimbor sleeps, his head on her lap, his face lined with hitherto unnoticed exhaustion. It is a private, domestic scene.

Marion burns with jealousy.

The she-elf looks up and smiles at his approach. "Halbrand," she says softly. "Welcome." She must see something in the way his eyes flit between her and her sleeping lord, because she smiles with wry fondness.

"Every time," she says. "He will arrange a celebration to mark the success of a large product- then delay his attendance with finishing notes, and cleaning up, and then when everything is finally done the lack of rest hits him and he will fall asleep wherever he happens to he standing when it comes. Last time we found him curled up on the anvil. But this has been-" something flitters across her face; she seems to struggle to find the words. "A lot," she says finally, and behind Halbrand's polite attention, Marion scoffs at the girl's inadequacy. "I was worried he might fall somewhere before the forge was made safe. So i brought him food and bade him sit."

She bade him. Marion burns

Halbrand affects a smile and a raising eyebrow. "Are you and he....?"

The elf frowns, and then- a quick progression of horror, amsuement- she is half gasping with shock, half laughing, as she says: "No- Valar no, Halbrand-" She wrests control of her idiotic mirth and says: "I have not parents. Kind were the elves who raised me, but they had many such charges, and often I escaped their watch to where I willed. And often did the Lord of Eregion find me on wanderings of his own. He treated me then with all the kindness of an indulgent uncle towards a favourite neice- and the remembering of it still grants me certain privileges now I am grown. Please, return to the feast-your friend is in good hands and will be upset if he thinks both of us missed it for care of him"

She speaks so casually of it- Celebrimbor's favour; boasts of what rights it gives her. And what is her thanks to him? A plate of scraps- she does not even steer him to his own bed that he might rest in comfort. And it is clear from the way she returns to her book that she is dismissing him- she, dismissing him- he who-

Mairon leaves, lest he turn his jewel's pillow to ash beneath his head. 

[dutchs-paisley-vest]

What do you like about Micah? I like him too and wanted to know your thoughts on him. I don't see too many people who also like his character.

Hi Anon!! I think Micah is so interesting for a lot of reasons. Ultimately, I like the role he plays in the larger narrative and the small details we get throughout the game that allude to a character with more depth that we don't necessarily get to see through the eyes of Arthur. 

Do I think Micah is a good person? No, I do not. Frankly, some of the characters that I find most compelling in this series (and in general) are those I simultaneously view as incredibly reprehensible. I think a lot of my draw to the Red Dead series is because of the unreliable narration from John and Arthur, combined with the phenomenal outpouring of love that these characters have received from the teams that made them come to life. 

Peter Blomquist did such a great job with his acting as Micah that I genuinely experience physical reactions to the emotions his character makes me feel. He and Ben as Dutch? Sickening duo. I absolutely love it. Most of the satisfaction I get as a fan of these games is through the combined canon and fan-based exploration of the more gruelling and upsetting themes that live at their core. It's the futility and hopelessness, the desperation that almost all of these characters experience at one point or another throughout these games, and the human-shaped horrors that exist all around us. That is what compels me. 

I think Micah is a fantastic example of this. I interpret his actions as being driven by anxiety and fear above all else. Micah is afraid and looks out for his skin before anyone else's. It is a means of survival. He is intelligent, quick, and knows what he wants, but the same desperation that led to Dutch's downfall also seals Micah's fate in the end. None of these characters can outrun what is coming for them, no matter how hard they dig their heels in; it's only a matter of how and when. 

As a writer, my favourite things to explore are the consequences of a character's actions on themselves and others, especially the (usually long-term) emotional fallout. While I don't have any WIPs with Micah (yet...), I certainly have a few with Dutch for the same reason, one more lighthearted than the other. I think it's only a matter of time before I write about Micah (probably from Arthur's or perhaps Dutch's point of view) because I love dissecting characters like them from an outsider's perspective, typically a character that knows them like the back of their hand. That character may be a victim of their actions or someone who is an accomplice to them; however, both serve different narrative purposes and can be equally as interesting to write. 

Overall, I am trying to say that I like Micah because he serves as a fun little vessel for the themes and character dynamics I enjoy rotating in my mind. He makes me irrationally angry; he and Dutch occupy the same space in my mind, living in the room where I keep characters that are both my favourites and also the ones I feel the most hatred and vitriol toward. I like understanding justifications for why they do things and the incongruence between their reality and their understanding of reality. No one ever thinks of themselves as the bad guy. And a well-written villain makes me want to know what makes them think they are the hero in their own story, so I think it's only natural for me to want to study him like a bug under a magnifying glass on a hot summer's day. 

[zykamiliah]

i know this is wild but the truth is there are more similarities between luo binghe and midoriya izuku beside being both (eventually) overpowered MCs with a "cursed power" who got a mentor that helped them level up:

experienced ostracism and bullying

have trust issues

mama's boys

will go crazy/berserk if you insult or harm his important person/people

...somewhat...crybabies... (though lbh grows out of it eventually)

[malewife-overlord]

I have the very specific image of Astrotrain in train form loafing on some tracks on his day off. Minding his business. It’s been a busy week and he is very content to just vibe with other trains and sleep. And some autobots (probably sunstreaker and sideswipe) spot him and cruise by in vehicle mode, because what if he’s being Troublesome. He isn’t. So they decide to mess with him by honking a few times. At which he just lets out the loudest train WHOOOOOOOO in response as a SHUT UP.

They both find it hilarious and keep it up. From an outsiders perspective it looks like those vehicles and the train are having such a fun time together

[armin051]

So wait, if cameras can't pick up vampires, how was Mitchell an extra in Casablanca???

[mistoffeleesisawitch]

Alicent’s ideal situation for me is to join a Motherhouse (I think that’s the Westerosi equivalent of a nunnery) and become a Benedetta Carlini figure. She gets to not marry and be away from her father, devote her life to The Seven, AND have gay sex. It’s a win win win situation

[pikmininaplane]

Ok wait, so Cucuruchito’s full of shit and I don’t trust a single thing coming out of that thing’s mouth.

But.

I keep thinking about how, when Fit asked him to assign him a nickname, it answered Harmony.

Obviously I scoffed when I first heard it, and so did most people: after all, Fit’s pretty much the opposite of harmony. He’s an agent of chaos, as are most 2b2t residents, he picked the Energy/Chaos entity, he’s an anarchist and if he gets any opportunity to go against the Federation’s perfect order, he will.

But like. Is he really?

I mean, back in the 2b2t wild lands, he wasn’t as chaotic as he could have been. In his most recent dream/flashback, we saw him warning the figure approaching him before trying to attack them, whereas others would have attacked first and asked questions later.

And even on the island, he’s far from being chaos incarnate – especially regarding his relationship with the people he cares about, especially the two he’s closest to, Phil and Pac. I dare even say he’s the opposite: a grounding point. He’s the one who keeps reassuring Phil that what’s happening around him is real, he’s the one that was there for Pac when half of his family went missing. Even when the eggs disappeared, he could have wreaked havoc like some of his fellow islanders did, but mostly? He kept calm, and kept hoping.

I’m not trying to say that Fit isn’t chaotic in some aspects; I’m just saying Harmony isn’t as bad of a nickname as one might think it is.